Health Shocker: He Only Ate Potatoes for 60 Days--And Lost 20 Pounds

So, apparently eating stunts are en vogue these days. Remember the man who survived (and lost weight) on a junk-food diet for months? Now, a man in Washington state is talking about his 60 days of eating only potatoes--breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The surprising health results ...

MSNBC reports that potatoes are the only vegetable not allowed for purchase under the federal Women, Infants and Children program (WIC).

Those rules didn't sit well with Chris Voigt, the executive director of the Washington Potato Commission, so he decided to hold a publicity stunt to make his point. Voigt has just ended a 60-day diet of only potatoes. That's right, for two full months he only ate spuds--for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Voigt notes that potatoes have more potassium than bananas, and a single serving of tubers serves up about 45 percent of the daily recommended value for vitamin C. Potatoes also provide some fiber and trace amounts of other vitamins and minerals.

But to subsist on them? A little crazy, right? Yes, but Voigt says the "diet" helped him lose 20 pounds and improve his cholesterol (it dropped by 67 points).

While the stunt is interesting, it also sounds so nauseating. Can you imagine how sick you'd be of potatoes after all that time? And, it goes back to the same info we always talk about in light of these so-called food stunts: a.) You can lose weight eating anything (for the most part) as long as you cut your calorie intake, which is what Voigt seems to have done, and b.) while small health improvements (reduction in cholesterol, for instance) might be gained from the weight loss, experts worry about what such a limited diet can do for your overall health/disease risk.

Who wants to guess the next food stunt? Chocolate-only for 60 days? Now that's something I'd love to see!